Bulldog wrestlers take down Chaparral

After competing literally from one end of the state of Nevada to the other, and points in between, Virgin Valley High School’s wrestlers finally were able to participate in a home match.

The Bulldogs, who spent the first seven weeks of the season on the road, treated the home crowd to a good show as they flattened visiting Chaparral, 51-24, Thursday night in a Sunrise League dual match inside of Kirk Brotherson Gymnasium.

“It was nice to finally get to wrestle at home,” VVHS head coach Skyler Woods said. “We’ve done a lot of traveling and I think some of our guys were a little sluggish tonight. We’ve got to step it up, especially the next couple of weeks.”

The Bulldogs had six wrestlers win by fall, two by forfeit and one by decision. VVHS forfeited one weight class while losing two matches by fall and two others to decision.

“I think the guys we expected to win did so, with the exception of one or two,” Woods said. “I thought the Abbott boys looked pretty good. They got after it. We also had a chance to get some of our younger kids some action. They went out there and battled.”

The Bulldogs didn’t have much time to enjoy the comforts of home as they were back on the road in the wee hours of Friday morning to make the long drive to Northern Nevada to compete in the Spring Creek Invitational.

“There were over 30 teams participating at Spring Creek,” Woods said. “Our kids had some tough matches. It’s a good tournament for us to wrestle in.”

Smith and Crandall both won their respective weight classes in the tournament. Crandall was also named outstanding wrestler of the meet.

Virgin Valley will be back on the road twice more this week for league matches – Tuesday at Del Sol in Las Vegas and Wednesday at Boulder City. VVHS will cap the week by participating in the Pine View Invitational Friday and Saturday in St. George.

The Bulldogs will host rival Moapa Valley on Jan. 25 in the regular-season finale, which will also be Senior Night.